Friday, April 30, 2004

When conservatives talk about media bias the point most often to language. Michael Collins is The Post's Washington bureau chief will likely not be considered a conservative by most conservatives but in his column on Ohio Presidential politics he refers to Bush as "The Big Guy" and referred to Kerry continuing "to bash Bush" for a political stance. If Bill Clinton was called "The Big Guy" (not referring to his literal size) and Bob Dole was said to be Clinton bashing, then the conservative MRC would be hopping mad, issuing press releases like a green PR lackey.

Why did WCPO feel the need to issue a statement about tonight's 'Nightline'? I hope it was just a large number of phone calls on the subject wondering if they are going to air it, and not demand that they do not air it.

This "controversy" is not one. This is political censorship. Sinclair's political motives are clear. They seek to re-elect Bush. They defense here is that 'Nightline' is doing the same thing, which is wrong. So, do what I say not what I do appear to be getting another go around.

I turned on WB64's "news" program at 10PM to see if they covered the "controversy" at all. I watched the beginning, but did not see much beyond that. They have a poll up on their website asking if they should air it, but it has problems working. At this point readers think they should air the program 80% to 20%.

Hopefully, no protestors will be arrested for doing what Bush supporters did at Bush's local speech at the Golden Lamb. Rumor is that he will speak from the balcony of the establishment. Wes Flinn said that it was as if we in "Argentina" or something.

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Kevin Drum believes that only 4% of the populations vote actually are in play this year. Or at least that is the only group that will have any significant sway either way in the election. I don't know how he got these numbers, but in general the election will come down to a small number of states. Ohio right now is one of those states. It is critical for Bush to win Ohio. He just can't win without it, at least not in any likely scenario. Kerry's must wins are all of Gore's states last year and Florida, which by the intent of voters should have been a Gore win with room to spare, if not for the mess that happened.

But anyone who thinks it's OK for 15-year-olds to sample the "Bavarian experience" of after-school keg parties should have their adult licenses suspended until they pass Breathalyzer tests.

Ok, we know Peter has a problem with any country who does not grovel at the feet of BushCo. He might want to check the last names of a large portion of the people who live in the area. They would be German. German culture, in case you missed Oktoberfest, includes drinking beer. Where does anyone say that drinking underage will harm kids? How does drinking beer at age 17 (I don't think most of the kids were 15, so Peter fudged that one) hurt a kid any more than a 21 year old. If you are a temperance freak who fears booze, fine, but don't try and make it out that beer will kill a 17 year old, but at 18 you instantly are immune to the death causing agents contained in beer. At that point you are deemed responsible enough to die for the county, vote of its leaders, but not responsible enough to not drink and drive. I guess the gene develops at age 21, we all no there are no DUI's for anyone after that.....(wink).

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Is this really blogworthy? The NY Post's John Podhoretz comes up the all to great commentary on Kerry: "Kerry is a terrible, terrible, terrible candidate." That is just so enlightening. I am convinced. Gee ma, I did not know this. I thought misleading people into a war was bad, but CW on Kerry just "must" be right. (COUGH, COUGH)

Rob, come on, if you are going to harp on Kerry, how about something better than flipflops and who voted for what in a bill that wasn't going to pass anyway (or was along party lines anyway.) Most of all come up with a writer without the most trite conservative analysis that a 6 year old couldn't write.

Kerry must have lied on the customer survey at Denny’s. He really did not have the eggs and toast, he had Waffles, and when he said they were great, he could have been telling the truth.

Now, where are those WMD??? Where was the threat from Iraq (note one that could have hurt someone in Saddam's lifetime)? Where is the Iraq - al Qaeda connection? Oh, those don't matter? SUV's, medals, haircuts? This is best you got? Come on, attack on substance, not on this bullcrap. We have a President with no Plan in Iraq, and whether Kerry toss away his medals is the fodder for the right wing. Amazing. Nothing to see hear. All is well. Don't changes horses in midstream.

Why did the NAACP refuse to release the full report to the media? It would be rather useful to know why this doctor stated one cause of death, while the local ME declared Jones died rom a heart problem exacerbated by the struggle with police.

This is the basis for a lawsuit and it is nothing but normal wrongful death civil action type of tactics.

The Enquirer has more and this story, WCPO, and it was picked up big time by the AP (no Nate quote this time...thanks John Nolan!), but did the AP reports have to continue carrying the "number" along:

Jones was at least the 19th black man to die in violent confrontations with Cincinnati police since 1995. Police union leaders said the men who died threatened officers with weapons.

Police say that all but 4 of the 19 had weapons I believe. So the story was even wrong there. If one wants to be Dramatic yet accurate, then say "Jones for the 4th unarmed black man killed by police since 1995. For the record some might say more than 4, but that might be the number, unless you do or don't count a brick or a car.

Is this just a ratings ploy on the part of Elton John? I guess because Al Sharpton did not win the Democratic nomination, it is because everyone is racist? The same would go for Allan Keys in 2000. Elton is reaching or his off handed comment was picked up by a race obsessed press. If he wants to say that the public are ignorant on picking vocal talent, he can and he would likely be correct. He is wrong to try and say American Idol is about picking the best singer. It is about picking a "star" who has the full package of "talent," beyond just the voice (yes I say this while laughing out loud.) In other words it is just a popularity contest. Who does Elton think are the majority of people voting for this? Teenagers are, or at least they are through their parents. Why would anyone be shocked that this turned into a high school popularity contest, not Star Search

By the way Elton, how racist can the voting be when largely the same voter base last year picked a black man as the winner?

Greg Korte reports on Councilman Chris Smitherman jumping procedure by issuing a memo to the City Manager asking to appoint a person to two City Boards. He was wasting his time, since only the Mayor can make those appointments, so his memo was misdirected.

What I want to know, did Chris or his staff keep a copy of that memo in their City Hall office or take it home for "safe" keeping.

I guess Carl Weiser missed the sensation of Dean Meet-ups in his gushing praise for Bush's organization which I would like to hear real numbers as to the number of people who attend that are either new to the GOP or at least new to party activities. That is what Dean did with that kind of process and did it out of thin air, not with big bucks behind it and not just make it sound like his campaign is "current."

UPDATE: Correction - Weiser did not "miss" Dean's influence in the article, let just say that it was buried and referenced once.

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Bush will be in Lebanon next week at the Golden Lamb, owned by Rep. Rob Portman's family. Anyone got a reservation there? I hope this does not tie up traffic on I-71 when I am trying to get to work. This will likely be closed to the public, unless directly invited. If any protestors are allowed within earshot of Bush, I will my hat. They will be kept away. If anti-Bush protestors did what anti-Kerry protestors did at the Kerry rally here a few weeks ago, they would be arrested on the spot and charged with a serious crime.

This story seems a bit forced. It is as if someone up the ladder said write a story on this but don't piss of the CCV. I wonder how this plays out in West Chester.

This kind of story is the problem with CinWeekly. This story calls for an opinion piece. CinWeekly has no opinion. This story should have a vibrant slam of the CCV and their puritanical crusade to push their religious standards on the rest of us. Instead we have quotes from the CCV, but no comment from anyone from WEBN, who had no comment. The story is thin. I would have preferred more content and background into the history of what kind of jokes WEBN uses and the motivation of the CCV and less reader comments, which are well, not very insightful.

The name of the BushCo campaign's effort to attack Kerry is actually called "Winning the War on Terror Tour" . I really hope that I never hear a Republican claim that BushCo is not politicizing "the war."

What I find distressing: Bush has only two messages. One is an anti-Kerry spin where they troll out the usual bullshit campaigns do. They try the “what you voted against” gambit. In case you are too ignorant to understand, most every time each party has a budget plan and they are voted on multiple times. Most party members vote in preliminary votes for their party's plan and against the other party's plan. That is the game. Both plans are usually 90% the same, but each party will vote against the other party's plan. Thus "Kerry voted against body armor" is as true as "Trent Lott voted against tax cuts."

So that's it. Don't vote for the other guy and stay the course. That is all BushCo has to say at this point. No plans to do anything different. Their plan I guess is to ride the tax cut into the Promised Land? Do nothing and all will happen just as he planned. This is the man with leadership? He has a secret plan to win the War in Iraq and the "War on Terra," but if BushCo tells anyone, let alone Bush, then it may not work.

Newsreaders will be shocked to learn that the Cincinnati Enquirer has purchased the SATIRICAL publication The Onion. Peter Bronson will be covering the Michael Jackson Trial and Greg Korte will do the entertainment reporting. Jim Knippenberg will be editor.

Sounds like a pretty goodschool Principal to me. As the son of a former principal, I know how the politics of school boards can be. It takes courage to say no to them. When you say it and you are right, it fills you full of glee that can last for a month.

I can't decide. Is Sam Malone's auto porn a bigger concern for the People of Cincinnati, or is Chris Monzel's campaign to screen ice cream truck vendors? What if just combined them? Mobile porn vendors! I like the idea. Hustler on Wheels. The Pornmobile. Has this been tried before? Would the market bare it? I think it would be a gold mine if someone where to try it. Simon Leis might pull it over for speeding every night though, just so he could look at the covers of the videos.

Now, aside from the stealth pun in that headline, I really I do wonder how any gay republican could support Bush for President. Will this brave college kid or his family support Bush?

How can any human being support a party that puts on stunts designed to devalue and I believe dehumanize gays and lesbians? What I will also want to observe is how many Democrats and Moderate Republicans stand silently by and let Sen. Rick Santorum and others push their bigoted agenda using the platform of Senate Hearings.

Will these hearings finally identify the "threat" gay marriage causes to anyone? Will the bigots finally gain the guts and come out with their hate filled message, instead of code and veiled references to "the harm" a change in marriage would supposedly cause?

Sunday, April 25, 2004

"'More than one million people are expected to participate in the rally, which could make it the largest march for legal abortion in US history,' the Cincinnati newspaper predicted. The Associated Press said 'an estimated 750,000' were slated to converge on the nation's capital. "

Now I found this article by a general Google search and then wondered what "Cincinnati newspaper" they were referring to, since they had not bothered to quote it correctly. I just searched Google again and found a story from the Enquirer by Maggie Downs which included that quote. I don't really think they are watching Maggie's reporting, but it is just odd the way it was incorrectly quoted. I think Maggie was at the event covering it for the Enquirer. She did the same thing last year for the anti-abortion rally. I wonder if that rally met expectations? I wonder if this anti-abortion news site reported that?

In an article describing the internal GOP power struggle between Ken Blackwell and Larry Householder we read that Luken "may run for state auditor against Householder in 2006." No sources of this information were given, so what it is based on it beyond me. Luken has stated publicly that he plans on running for re-election as Mayor in 2005.

A reader, Barbara, emailed and pointed out a problem with Linda Oda's guest column on Autistic children. The reader, the parent of a child with autism, found the ending of the column troubling and "lazy.":

About autism

April is National Autism Awareness month. The autism spectrum is one of the fastest-growing birth defects, up more than 800 percent in the past 15 years. Studies have shown that autistic children tend to be born to parents who have above-average intelligence and are successful in their fields. Typically, siblings are either gifted in some area or are autistic as well.

Barbra pointed out that if you were to go to the website listed in the article you would read on the front page the following:

What is Autism?

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. The result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, autism and its associated behaviors have been estimated to occur in as many as 2 to 6 in 1,000 individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2001). Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls and knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle, and educational levels do not affect the chance of autism's occurrence. Frequently Asked Questions

The conflict? Compare this from the Enquirer column: "Studies have shown that autistic children tend to be born to parents who have above-average intelligence and are successful in their fields." and compare it to this "Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls and knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle, and educational levels do not affect the chance of autism's occurrence." Further digging in the autism website reports no known causes, but only some theories, none of which include an intelligence or career success factor. This definition seems to try and paint autism as a condition that tends to affect the affluent more than other groups. According to what I read on the website, this is not valid.

The rest of the column was excellent in my opinion at conveying some of the problems of parents with autistic children have. I do not mean to claim that autism is not something people should not be working to help cure or that Ms. Oda's comments should be ignored on the subject. Instead at the prompting of the reader I want to point out an error. If this error was part of the column or added by the editors is something the Enquirer might want to check out. Fact Checking is a dying element of journalism, which in newspapers is all but dead.

He can't let it rest. He can't write a column about a POW without both slamming Cincinnati for not being faux patriotic enough nor can he resist trying to paint anti-war protestors as anti-troop:

'Because it hits so close to home,' Eyer explained. She didn't know Matt or the Maupin family. But her response is what makes small-town Batavia so different from big-city Cincinnati.

I saw it when we went to war, and Batavia rallied to support the troops while antiwar protesters yawped on Fountain Square. And I saw it again last night when the crowd stood and sang 'I'm Proud to be an American.' They can wave flags and reach out to someone in trouble because they don't have both hands full of cynical doubts and pretentious baggage.

Does Bronson have any shame? I have said nothing but positive comments on the Matt Maupin POW situation. I even watched some of the church service on TV where a preacher invoked BushCo's "the Iraq War is part of the War on Terrorism" propaganda. I held my tongue then, and will do it again now.

Bronson seems to want to just kill Cincinnati as much as Nate Livingston. Both men's answer is to drive everyone out, level it, and build each man’s version of a fascist utopia, all be it from different social/religious/race perspectives. I don't want to totally compare Peter to Nate. Nate's level of attention whoring, racism and bigotry towers over Bronson's. To be clear Bronson is only two of the three (not a racist).

Saturday, April 24, 2004

With incidents like this one in Mariemont where 17 students were suspended for drinking beer in Germany where their parents allowed it and were I was legal for them to drink. Why do some school officials feel they must control children, in this case older teenagers, at every step? They broke no law. The rules of schools do not super jurisdictions. Let parents rule their kids outside of school. This sounds like paranoia about alcohol. When did the temperance movement gain so much power in a city of beer drinkers?

In case you missed the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) story on Iraq, CityBeat has it. The evidence of a poorly run war is adding up. I don't think many war supporters actually can claim BushCo knows what they were doing beyond the military battle plan. Everything since has been reactions to the situation and seat of pants planning that was as timely as the news cycle would allow.

Thursday, April 22, 2004

The media, fueled by conservatives, have been pushing for John Kerry's military records. Kerry has released them and a shocker, he was good sailor and Kevin Drum illustrates the differences between Bush and Kerry on their military record. If you don't think that matters, fine, but don't deny that people have been throwing military records around for years in elections, usually against Democrats. Bush is running as a War Hero for misleading the country in a war, while Kerry actually was a war hero. It is funny that conservatives even fooled CNN into biting a guy who claimed to have dirt on Kerry's service, but never even served with him and misrepresented that he did.

Peter is supporting district representation in his latest column. He gave reasons why others support that type of system. What he fails to report, the many feel a district system will help the GOP win more seats on council. That is surely part of Bronson's rationale for support and overall positive reaction to district representation.

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

The advice provided in this CinWeekly article on how to pick up women in local clubs has one small problem: I don't want a woman that spends her time in clubs. A club-chick would tend to be a non-intellectual person more concerned with American Idol than with the American Prospect.

Please note that I said "tend to be a non-intellectual." I don't want any angry emails from club-chicks. I doubt they read blogs though, so do I really have to worry?

Ray Cooklis gives another conservative spin on media commentary totally ignoring the charges of which that commentary was based. Gee, the allegations only involve lying to American public, being obsessed with the Iraq over al Qaeda, the subversion of the Constitution, manipulation of the oil markets, and failure to gain the full analysis of Secretary of State before deciding to go to war. I wonder why people are talking about things like that. I wonder why it is likened to Nixon's actions. (Cough, Cough) I guess Bush can do what ever he wants and the media should just shut up about it unless they can heave praise on him. Well, if Bush does not carry the conservative's water I guess the media can mention that, as long as the bow to fearless leader while doing it.

Ray, you failed to even mention Bush’s HORRIBLE press conference this week where his comments, or many of them, would have fit into your column better than anything. Good catch there dude! Way to ignore the blatant and meaningful, and go after the insignificant and invalid spin.

"I don't need a history lesson on civil rights, or my ancestry, or how African-American people in this community have fought for their rights," he said. "I am not grandstanding."

When you defend a group of racists and do nothing to counter their hate speech in what I would say is a political move to appease the "militant vote," then yes you are grandstanding Mr. Smitherman.

I also think Greg Korte forgot some quotation marks in this sentence, "Now, a new generation of civil rights fighters - people like Nate Livingston, William Kirkland, Kabaka Oba and Terry Summers - have been using the City Council podium as their soapbox." Either that, or the sarcasm just did not come across. How can you call these guys "civil rights fighters" with a straight face? If Greg did not forget the quotation marks, then I think he needs to reassess the beliefs of the boycott B gang, as should the rest of the media, especially the local AP writers.

Councilman Christopher Smitherman would apply zero tolerance to Cincinnati police officers who use racial slurs and would start with the termination of an officer who might have used a slur five years ago. Yet, when a vocal, shameless minority of the black community stands up in council meetings and hurl the same slurs at council, Smitherman contends that his fellow members are not showing these malcontents proper respect. Does anyone else see a contradiction here?

To many of us who thought Smitherman's campaign offered a refreshing, thoughtful approach to a beleaguered city government and a racially divided community, he has become a huge disappointment and an embarrassment to the Charterite Committee. In practice, it is clear that Smitherman only knew how to speak the word "reconciliation."

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Is Rob Portman Smoking crack? He is a sponsor of a bill in congress which requires states to consider any level detectable of controlled substances while driving a DUI. So if someone smoked a joint last week and is pulled over and tested today and still has it in their system, they are DUI.

Nutty! and The Post Editorial Board seems to mostly like this kind of lunacy. The next step will be locking me up for life for driving after taking cold medication.

Every time Sen. Ted Kennedy and Sen. John Kerry, or other Democrats open their mouths criticizing the war on terror, another Marine or soldier dies. As they continue to undermine President Bush, or as I say, give aid to and abet the enemy, they give the enemy reason to doubt our resolve. Please support Bush in this war. I am a proud Marine's mom and aunt.

Dorette Landis, Maineville

Dorette, you seem to be living in a George Bush fantasy world. We happen to live in a country where everyone has the right of free speech. Secondly, it is the CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY of our congressmen and senator to stand as watchdogs on the Executive Branch (that would be George Bush and his Administration Ms. Landis). It is rather obvious that as of now, Bush has no plan in Iraq. They are flying by the seat of their pants and are in danger of plunging the country into further chaos. If Kerry and Kennedy did not speak up, they would shirking their duty.

Also, how ignorant must you be to actually think that anything Kerry says is really listened to in by Iraqis fighting in the streets. Lady, George Bush is the commander in chief. Whether he is has the courage to accept it or not, the buck stops with him. Anyone dying in Iraq is the result of the war. Bush owns this war. Don't try and blame it on anyone else.

Oh boy, Ohio is safe from a bunch of kids going off by themselves and taking drugs. Oh, glory be! The great Satan of rave parties is dead in Oxford. Everyone can sleep a sound sleep knowing that those horrible ravers won't invade your house and leave glow sticks and Cat-in-the-Hats lying around. The evildoers have been smited. Lets all sing cheesy songs now singing praises to Bush for this glorious day. All bow before fearless leader!

I don't know how this devolved down to a slam on Bush, but what the Hell, if Bronson can drag Clinton into everything, I sure can.

With news that Span is pulling troops from Iraq soon than thought, will right wing zealots make Spain the new target for their hate? I wonder how long it will take to see the first anti-Spain post on the usual sites.

Kevin Drum brings up something from Bob Woodward's 60 Minutes interview last night that also caught my eye. Woodard stated that the Saudi Arabian Ambassador promised to produce more to assure that the price was lowered in time for the 2004 election. Is that a bribe? Is it a violation of some election law? Isn't it something that should be investigated intensely and be subject to Congressional hearings? Manipulation of the oil market for political gain is something that I hope everyone find deplorable, and something that would make you not vote for Bush. I wonder how little attention this will get from the SCLM?

Sunday, April 18, 2004

Supporters of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman have been called bigots. This proposed amendment is identical to the Defense of Marriage Act passed by 427 members of Congress and signed into law by former President Clinton. Are they bigots, too? The ultimate goal of homosexual marriage isn't the relationship of any two people. It is to change national policy to say that gender, especially in raising children, doesn't matter, even though history and research show children do best when raised by a married mother and father. For the sake of our children, a federal amendment protecting traditional marriage is necessary.

Pete Shockey, Taylor Mill

To answer your question Mr. Shockey "are they bigots, too?" Yes, yes they are. I will say you too are a bigot Mr. Shockey. Which should not be a surprise, or shock, to you. I at least give you a little bit of credited for at least putting your objections out in the open. You fear gender equality. You fear individuals you don't like having children. I fear that too, like I fear if you have any children, but I don't seek to make it illegal or place legal hurdles trying to prevent it. Mr. Shockey, if you want to be a an anti-homosexual bigot, fine, I don't care. If you want to institutionalize your bigotry, then I care. There are plenty of single parent households out there. I happen to be the son of a father raised by a single mother. This was during the 40's and 50's when being a boy from a broken home was a black mark on you. Guess what Mr. Shockey. My father went to college, as had my Grandmother, raised three kids, was a public educator for 35 years and now lives with my mother and mostly plays golf while battling Parkinson's disease. I would say single parents do just fine. If they are gay or not it does not matter. If there are two parents there, all the better, where they are the same sex or not. You can take your uncited studies made by unnamed people and frankly, shove it.

Marcus Carey, chairman of the Republican Party in Kentucky's 4th congressional district, is frankly, a fool. He is all in bother over last week's George Clooney column where George threw down the gauntlet and said don't attack my dad (Nick) by attacking me, it wont work. Well for some stupid reason, Carey does just that. I have to wonder why Carey bothers? It will not work. People love Nick Clooney and think he is a nice guy. I bet their are plenty of people who don't even know that George is his son. More over, if they do or now know, they do not care. It is funny how Carey tries, after cherry picking on George, makes references to Nick's alleged opinions saying he said this or said that, but makes no reference to when or where or exactly what Nick said on the issues. He does not even quote him, just says he said these things, like claiming "any American who would own a gun is a barbarian." It would have been nice to read a real quote of that, instead of a claim with no support.

On Carey's attempt at humor, I would just point out that George's also did mention that a GOP take over of the 4th district seat would be a Return of the Killer Tomatoes.

Michael at Rantophilia feels I have "gone too far" in referring to those who advocate mixing religion and government as theocrats. I could have gone much further, but I don't. What Michael appears to be criticizing me on is that I either don't name names (which religious sects) or that I am painting anyone who wants more religion in government as theocratic.

I can name names. It is clear that most conservative Christian denominations that put out spokes people want a theocracy. The problem here is that Michael may not understand what I mean by theocracy and my reference to Iran. That also plays into my "generalization" about those who want any religion in government.

If you want religion into government then I am guessing (or you could say generalizing) that 95% of those people want their religion into government, not any religion. They don't want Wicca or Islam or Hindu beliefs or the belief that the Grand Canyon is the ruler of the Universe put equally into government. Most want Christianity because most people in the country are Christian and most of those pushing for mixing government and religion on any level are advocates or repeating what they heard in churches that advocate a "Christian Nation."

Now, do I believe most people who answered yes to putting more government want a Iranian style theocracy? No, I doubt they even now what a theocracy is. I do think that those same people would care if we did outlaw certain religious beliefs or mandated certain religious practices in the country, like saying oaths where one pledges allegiance to a Christian "God."

I don't honestly fear we are going to end up like Iran. I think their enough people out there who like porn, beer, swearing, and watching football on Sundays to keep freedom alive. What I do fear is a continuation of a society where atheists are often considered either communists or devil worshipers, therefore considered subhuman or outright criminal. This idea is manifest mostly plainly in the fact that no openly atheist person could be elected to any significant public office in the country.

There are many groups that make me fear theocracy. I think if one reads some of their beliefs you might share my fears. One of biggest and most troublesome is that of the Texas Republican Party. Their 2002 party platform (pdf) is filled with the following gems:

We believe that human life is sacred because each person is created in the image of God, that life begins at the moment of conception and ends at the point of natural death, and that all innocent human life must be protected.

[...]

“God Bless Texas!”

[...]

Christian Nation – The Republican Party of Texas reaffirms the United States of America is a Christian nation,
which was founded on fundamental Judeo-Christian principles based on the Holy Bible. We also affirm the right of each individual to worship in the religion of his or her choice.
Religion – The Party acknowledges that the church is a God–ordained institution with a sphere of authority separate from that of civil government; thus, churches, synagogues and other places of worship, including home Bible study groups, should not be regulated, controlled, or taxed by any level of civil government, including the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. We reclaim freedom of religious expression in public on government property, and freedom from governmental interference.

[...]

Free Exercise of Religion – The Party believes all Americans have the right to practice their religious faith free of persecution, intimidation, and violence. We call on Congress to sanction any country that is guilty of persecuting its citizens because of their religious beliefs. Our Party pledges to do everything within its power to restore the original intent of the First Amendment of the United States and dispel the myth of the separation of Church and State. We support the right of individuals and state and local governments to display the Ten Commandments on public property subject to their control.

Now, with ideas like these in the state platform of the Home State of sitting President, you really my fears are totally unfounded? The GOP leadership in Texas is advocating a theocracy. It is one where as long as you accept that the majority religion is the real one, you can do as you want, with the understanding that you will be social outcasts left out of society. They won't kill you for being atheist, but life would be easier if you just complied with the majority and accepted the state religion. That is not Iran, but is "starting to sound" like it.

I hope the national press can leave the family alone and not stake out his house, but if you were to drive over there, which I do NOT sugguest you actually do, you would likely find national journalists holding vigil. I wonder if they are all staying at the Holiday Inn at Eastgate.

I should have seen this coming from Bronson. Who else but Peter Bronson would seize upon a chance to blame Bill Clinton for something? It would be refreshing if one Republican would take responsibility for something, instead of blaming someone else for not doing what they could have done.

Bronson needs to rethink what he is saying. He claims the media is not covering the story he wants to hear. Well, guess what Peter, the media is covering it. You are writing about it, and if you listen to talk radio or watch FOX News, that is about all you heard about during the 9/11 hearings. What is funny here is that Peter blames the Media for doing the bidding of the Democrats and he does that by quoting local Republican Congressmen. Peter, did you get their press releases by fax or email? Classic hypocrisy there Pete. Do what I say, not what I do?

Bronson’s attempt to tar Gorelick, pronounced "gor-ell-ick", not "Gore Lick” which is what I hope Bronson was not joking about in his opening, is a classic red herring ploy. She is getting death threats by the way, likely from talk radio type cranks. Everything in politics these days is a red herring ploy, but this is a bit different. Critics have had going on 2 years to bring this up. Ashcroft had the knowledge, as did Bush and his leadership, that Gorelick wrote the memo getting people like Bronson in such a tizzy. WHY didn’t Ashcroft object to her being appointed in the beginning? If she had such a damning conflict of interest, why not mention that before they started things off? Gee, you don’t think he withheld the information and selectively declassify it just so he could gain politically? No, that is just not possible. He would not wait months to do that, just to make a DRAMTIC statement in the hearings, our honest AG is not that shallow is he? When I hear him criticized by Bill Frist, maybe that would support his honesty, until then, we can all bank on the game of blame being the GOP’s only play.

Most laughable from the column is this from Rob Portman:

'What Bush did in eight months was more aggressive than what Clinton did in eight years,'' Portman said.

Mr. Portman, my congressman by the way, what the hell did Bush do during those eight months? Some details? Anything? If he really did more in 8 months than Clinton did in 8 years, why could he not prevent 9/11? Clinton's team prevented LAX from being bombed during the Millennium celebration. I mean, if Bush such a stud, he surely would have done that in 8 months? Right? Oh, sorry, I forgot he had Iraq on his mind.

Friday, April 16, 2004

Ok, everyone who reads my blog knows I am a very big supporter of gay rights, but I find this kind of protest to be not very productive. It could be viewed as something of a joke. I respect the person trying to do something for gay rights, but I really think the group that started this "Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies," should rethink it. It might work in High Schools or younger, where gays are subject to more pier oppression than college, where at most colleges acceptance is becoming more standard practice.

Nick Clooney has set a record in fundraising for the House district in Kentucky he is trying to win. He is well positioned to win. Will he? The last polls I read about had him up significantly. I think he name might just keep that seat for the Dems.

I tend to think that college kids are not any more informed, as a whole, than the general public. This article reports a lot of sides of who might get most of the college kids votes, but it seems to say little but what activists say, or at least what conservative activists say. Quoting a poll and then asking the president of the UC College Republicans is hardly a comparison worth much in the analysis of college voter. Why did this reporter not get a UC Democrat quote?

I was most concerned about this point from the poll:

• Liberal and conservative labels don't apply as much anymore, and the students don't like to be seen as Democratic or Republican. The poll identified two key groups: religious centrists, who believe religion should play a larger role in government and are concerned with the nation's moral direction; and secular centrists, who are more libertarian.

I added the bolding. What kind of person actually wants religion to play a larger role in government? A theocrat maybe? Where do kids get that kind of idea from? I guess from certain Religious Sects that advocate or are working towards a theocracy. What country do sound more and more like? We are starting to sound like Iran.

Thursday, April 15, 2004

Under the First Amendment can a student shout racial slurs at a public school teacher, and face no suspension from class? Council has passed a rule booting anyone who disrupt council meetings for 60 days. From the article:

Charterite Christopher Smitherman voted against the measure, saying the rule violates the free speech rights of people who petition City Council.

But City Council came through. Everyone voted yes except Chris Smitherman. He seems to think cops who are even accused of using the N-word five years ago should be fired - with a real torch - but people who shout and scream it at council meetings just don't get enough respect.

"We can't arbitrarily say what is disruptive and what's not," he argued, drawing disruptive applause (an almost certain indication that you're on the wrong side of an issue at City Hall). "What policies do we put forward that bring this kind of thing on?" he asked. "We must hear the voice of the people."

Smitherman I guess thinks that '400 years of oppression' makes it OK for a bunch of black racists to shout the "N-word" or the "K-word" at council members.

Bronson is actually right on this point. Smitherman is gutless. He fears taking on the black racists in town. He wants to bring the city together, but he doesn't want to stamp out all the racism. White racism is bad, but black racism must be the fault of white people. It would not surprise me to find out that Damon Lynch would have taken a better stand against black racists if he was on council.

I don't know jack shit about visual art. Well, not jack shit, but not much. Luckily I have a friend who does know something about art, and more importantly has a forum to interview and publish information directly from the gallerist. Some modern art is not my style, but I like ideas that challenge me, but that don't mock me. If you check out the M Gallery, give me your impressions.

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Kotre reports in his column that the district voting Plan would have favored GOP. It would have favored the GOP if we look at what happened in the last election, which is the way he approached it. Since moving around in the city is easy, Damon Lynch III can attest to that, then most sitting council members could cherry pick their districts. The people that would be hurt are those who rely on a specific demographic, like Witte, who would have to stay on the West Side, where Cranley could move East and challenge Ghiz and could do well. That might make for a stormy race on many levels.

A Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Investigator shot and killed a suspect. What puts a wrinkle into this is that the officer in question was also involved in a 2001 incident were police shot into the crowd the protested after the funeral of Tim Thomas. He was cleared of wrong doing in that incident.

What will drive this case as it does with all police public issue is the race of the suspect. It was not give in the article. If he was black we will hear outrage. If he was not black we will not hear outrage. That is the way of world with activists who think in terms of race, and not in terms of humanity.

What I found shocking was the glibness of Simon Leis on this incident:

Mercado may take a few days off if he wishes, but isn't required to take administrative leave, Leis said.

That is amazing that they have no policy to at least require an officer to take off time to assure he is able to cope with killing another human being. Not to mention that there seems to be no investigation at all into what happened. I would assume that they incident is either on video or audio tape since it was undercover, which may account for things being so cut and dry. If not, it looks like Leis just does not care about what happened. What a cold SOB.

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

"I just wanta give It my best shot and the Good Lord willing, things'll work out."

I really don't get how anyone thinks this guy is a good leader when he can't answer a rather tame questions and instead goes into a blather of “umspeak” and over rehearsed clichés. Answer a question directly and honestly is what I expect of a good leader. I don't think any President in the modern era have been a particularly good leader. I can understand why people who are party backers back Bush. He is their guy and they back the GOP. I can understand and respect that. He pushes their ideology and that is what they want. That is what I want too for my ideology. What I honestly don't get is how people think this guy instills a sense of safety. I really don't feel safe with this guy in office. I am not saying I fear being killed, but I don't see Bush doing anything that anyone else could not do, at least anyone else with his "qualifications."

Korte reports on the support or rather lack of support for the Plan produced by the Electoral Reform Commission which calls for electing council members by district and creating an executive Mayor, eliminating, or at least really weakening, the City Manager's role.

If the plan proposed does not at least keep some at-large council seats, then I would oppose it. A pure district representation structure would create a mini-Balkans that would increase the divisions in the city, instead of decreasing them. I wonder why a metro government plan has not been pushed yet. The GOP sees that as their only way to control the city, while still living in the suburbs.

A local Army reservists, Keith Maupin age 21 of Bativa, is listed as MIA after the convoy he was part of came under attack. I am speculating that he might have been part of the same convoy the civilian truck driver who is not being held hostage was in.

My thoughts got out to the family. I hope for the best, but the situation is not looking good.

It brings a whole new element to the Iraq war when the term "MIA" begins to be used again.

The State of Kentucky House has passed a constitutional amendment that bans homosexual marriage and civil unions. 85 of the 96 members who voted in favor of this. There are 85 anti-homosexual bigots in the Kentucky House. The amendment must still pass the Kentucky Senate, and then go to November Ballot for approval by voters.

This movement is pure bigotry, pure hate, and pure discrimination. The purpose here is to oppress and do whatever possible to keep homosexuals as second-class citizens. This actually is worse than the DOMA passed in Ohio.

Monday, April 12, 2004

McCain will not be Kerry's VP and just so the right wingers don't forgot, neither will Hillary. I know they need some reason to get people to give them money, but can't they just use something with some truth to it? You know, there's more evidence Iraq had WMD, than Hillary being on the ticket in 2004.

It would have been kick ass if McCain was the VP. His opinions are really conservatives, but it would have pissed the hell out of BushCo if that happened, making it worth it.

Sunday, April 11, 2004

If this movie can play in Salt Lake City, Utah, then why is it not scheduled to play in Cincinnati yet? Hesiod has more on the movie. I have been reading the script. It is not out on DVD and the VHS version is hard to come by and not the best print. I assume a DVD version is in the works after it makes the art house rounds.

Paper receipts may seem a good idea to let voters verify that their vote was accurately recorded. But paper receipts enable the possibility of vote-buying. Vote sellers could turn them in as proof needed to collect bribes from corrupt political organizers. The new machines allow voters to review their vote, and the new federal law requires the machines to produce a secure "audit trail" that lets election officials cross-check paper printouts with electronic totals.

Vote-buying? What kind of moron came up with this rationalization? How could you buy a vote after it is cast? Seriously? How? Does someone at the Enquirer Editorial Board think that someone could create fake print outs and try and challenge an election? You would need human bodies to get on the stand and lie for you to do that, a whole bunch of them. That could happen now with our without electronic systems without vote print outs.

I know how to simply do away with the irrational fears of the Enquirer’s Editorial Board.. CREATE TWO PRINT OUTS. One for the voter and one gets turned in at the polling station like paper ballots are currently, simple as that. I don't really think the voter has to have a print out, but that would be the ideal. What we do need is a hard copy of a vote to have in case the hard drive in one of the machines crashes before the data is downloaded or during the download process, not just because of possible fraud. The process is simple and the solutions are easy. Why are some (and I do mean only some) conservatives dragging their feet?

Media bias is a common theme in current events commentary these days. Mostly of the time it is a conservative complaining about "liberal bias" in the media. Often they say that liberal reporters can't report on religion without bashing it. I hope Peter Bronson has read this article in his newspaper about religion in the city. This article was written by a liberal. I don't think I am outing Maggie as a liberal, so I hope no one is aghast at this news, especially Maggie. Her article is very positive on a whole variety of religious groups and specific churches in Cincinnati. In fact the article gives no criticism of any of the groups, which some of them deserve. I don't have a problem with that. I would have add a few other things, but likely if they were added, the editors took them out.

What I am most dismayed at is the title of the article: "Younger worshippers flock back to church: From mainline to modern, youthful ministries flourish." Now, I am fairly sure that most reporters never write their own headlines. That is done by editors. In this case the bias of those editors comes out in full glory. Read this excerpt from the article:

According to a March Gallup poll, 48 percent of America's 18- to 29-year-olds and 59 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds say religion is important in their lives.

But a much smaller number attends services. Only 30 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds and 40 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds say they have attended services in the past week.

Despite national surveys that say there has been only a slight attendance increase among young people over the past decade, local churches say they are seeing a significant upswing of young faces in their congregations.

So nationally few younger people are going to church (with a ?slight attendance increase? over the last ten years) and local church groups claim they are seeing a ?significant? increase in attendance, that information is then somehow transformed to "flourish" and "flock back?" Local churches who are in the business of spinning their message to gain new members are claiming they are beating the national trends, but they don't provide support for their comments and this is enough to claim that young people are filling local churches like their is no tomorrow?? (cough, cough) This information is in the article and editors paint the story as a ?Win? for religion on a big church holiday. How convenient.

I also hope that Freddi Caldwell, a subject in the article, was also joking when he told Maggie that he was a former ?heathen.? If not, well that indicates to me a sign of not only ignorance, but a sign of a person grasping for meaning and buying into something because it?s easy. He was going on about drinking filling a void. If he is an alcoholic I hope he is not claiming he drank because he was not religious. Alcoholism is a disease, not the result from the lack of religious conviction. Religion can satisfy people?s emotional needs, but not their physical needs.

Libertarian-Conservative Jim Pinkerton I think has written one of the best opening paragraphs outlining the problem with Bush's pre-9/11 stance on al Qaeda:

"If you knew that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had received a memo a month before Pearl Harbor entitled, 'Japanese Determined to Attack the United States in the Pacific,' and that he had done nothing about that information, would that knowledge change your perception of FDR as a wise war leader?"

That sums up the failings of Bush. It is not that he could have done anything to prevent 9/11. He likely could not have. What he could have done was to try harder and to admit that he could have tried harder. Instead his surrogates (he says little on the subject) just claim nothing could have been done or that it was someone else's fault, namely the red herring of all red herrings, Bill Clinton.

Bush's campaign has its focus: "Bush is a great leader." What Pinkerton points out is that he may be the person walking out in front, but that does not make him a leader.

This morning John Dean was interveiwed on NPR and made a point about Bush and Cheney meeting together with the 9/11 commission. His point is that Bush is just the Head of State, and Cheney really runs the government. Bush can't answer things without Cheney by his side. This point has been made before, but has mostly been satire. Here we see it in action. Bush's support generally is rested on the personal connect people on the right have for the guy. His frat boy charm is something I find vomit inducing, but the conservative subculture (bible thumpers and small businessmen) eat that attitude up. Bush is the Head of State the GOP wants. What Pinkerton and Dean's observations support is the empty suit charge made against Bush. Bush is not an idiot, but he is a long way from an engaged commander-in-chief.

I have been criticized many times for painting groups with a broad brush. I disagree in nearly every instant because I am careful to choose most of my words carefully and point to specific individuals. What I do is call out those who would agree with individuals or have in the past and ask if they agree with the tactics or message they put forward. Today I am doing just that. I am calling out Conservative Christians and ask them if they agree with the tactics and message of Kent Ostrander and his Family Foundation.

His group, out of Lexington, Kentucky, has been out pushing its religious views into the government. Do Conservative Christians want a theocracy? I think they do. I think many want a state religion that outlaws our historical and current secular government, and replace it with some type of faux democracy. Now, when I call people out who do I mean? Well, I mean the usual suspects: Peter Bronson, Simon Leis, Phil Heimlich, Phil Burress, Sam Malone, and even Damon Lynch III. Threw in Lynch mostly to cause a ruckus, but also because of the constant rumor that his is a closet Republican.

So what are the intentions of conservative Christians? They want a state religion by popular vote? Some say that. Do they want to smite out atheists? Some do want that. Why do Conservatives want to put ?God? into government? What is their purpose? Why do they seek to ban Gay Marriage? I have asked for a detail reason for that position for a long time and have yet heard anything on my blog, which I did not really expect, or in the media which seems to just let the question hang out there without any substance behind their opposition to it.

Where are we going? With the letter from yesterday?s paper I mentioned sectarian strife. We are going down the road toward conflict that as I said before is going to result in violence. Kerry?s rally here last week came close to some violence. As the summer goes on the battle lines on the culture wars on the Iraq wars, and on the war for the truth will end up with violence. Call me Chicken Little, call me Ishmael, call me a stupid son of a bitch. What I don?t think you will call me is wrong.

Saturday, April 10, 2004

Don't let Kerry, atheists, media win
In response to Sen. John Kerry's challenge for Cincinnati to rise up - 'this election is the most important election of our lifetime' - I must agree, but for a much different reason. We've had a brief return to 'One nation under God,' one of which we can be proud. Are we going to continue with a brave and decent man in the White House, who does the right thing, popular or not?
Margery Sowell, Springfield Township

Ms. Sowell is chicken. She is chicken to come out and say what she wants. She wants a President who is a member of her religious sect, or at least a sect that she can relate to or tolerate. Now, John Kerry is Christian, a Roman Catholic to be specific. I am going to guess that Ms. Sowell does not have anything against Catholics. I could be wrong, but I will be that is not the issue.

Friday, April 09, 2004

On the third Anniversary of the 2001 riots it appears that the media is going to startbeating on Cincinnati Again. I guess the 1 anniversary and the 2 were not enough. Here is another column on the Dateline programming airing tonight. Tune in and see what the show reports for yourself.

Ken Blackwell has chosen a new voting machine for Hamilton County. He chose eSlate, a machine manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin, Texas. What I find troubling is what Blackwell's spokesman said:

A joint committee of Ohio's General Assembly recommended Wednesday that by 2006 all county elections boards be required to allow voters to confirm their choices with a paper receipt. Blackwell supports studying the issue of voter-verifiable paper trails but the technology is unavailable and unproven, spokesman Carlo LoParo said Thursday.

The technology exists, whether or not any of the companies are willing to respond to demand is another problem. How could it be "unproven?" You have a machine that currently "writes" the vote to a data disc. It is not difficult to at the same time it writes to the disc it also print out that data in a report that can be verified by the voter and then stored like current paper ballots are stored at the polling place and then Board of Elections. It is not that difficult a process. The paper trail would serve as a back-up, both for a technical error and for a legal challenge to an election.

I will paint LoParo's comments as spin and not a lie, but that is being generous. It is after all the job of a political spokesperson to lie for their boss, but convince as many people as possible that they are not lying.

Thursday, April 08, 2004

I am not trying to compare Iraq to Vietnam, even though the political parallels in tactics and policies are obvious, but does these comments from Bill O'Reilly compare at all to Walter Cronkite's famous comments on the Vietnam war. I don't mean to compare Cronkite to O'Reilly. The former is the gold standard in broadcast journalism; the latter is a delusionally ridden ego pretending to be a human television personality.

What O'Reilly is however is a good barometer for the rightwing. If you loose O'Reilly, you lose many hardcore Bush supporters. That is where the comparison to Cronkite comes to bear. He was seen as the man of mainstream America.

I make these comment tentatively and want opinion on them. Is this such a comment from O'Reilly, or just another rant from a man with such an out of context sense of self righteousness that he actually makes sense to insane child molesters or to Michael Jackson? ( I kid, I kid)

"COLUMBUS - A House-Senate committee studying the security of electronic voting machines recommended Wednesday that boards of election be required to allow Ohio voters to confirm their choices with a paper receipt, beginning in 2006 elections. "

Great news for Ohio voters. The only problem is getting Taft and Blackwell behind this. The problem is the lobby for Diebold Election Systems. If Taft or Blackwell give in the GOP friendly Diebold company, elections in this state will lose a level of security.

When a group of known racists and bigots yell and scream at City Council members and the Mayor nearly every week you might think the new council members might want to taken them on. You might think that outspoken council members who are trying to shake up the status quo, like Councilman Chris Smitherman, would want to confront the obvious racism and bigotry that the Boycott B members, Nate, Kabaka, Kirkland, et al. Instead Smitherman shows his cowardice in this report on yesterday's council meeting:

Councilman Christopher Smitherman said he opposes the new rule. He said the problem is that City Council doesn't show enough respect to the people who come to speak.

Should we drop the "man" from his name and just call him "Smither?" Where is the Councilperson who was willing to dress down the police chief? Why is "Smither" defending their attempts to spew their hate on the city? Why is "Smither" defending racists?

I wish Korte had a direct quote from "Smither," instead of referring to his comments. Maybe "Smither" will give a direct interview on the problems of racism and why racist blacks should be denounced as much as racists of any race.

Why do I keep picturing Kevin Bacon in Animal House trying to "calm down" a frantic crowd when I think of the Bush Administration and Pentagon spokesmen talking about the Shiite rebels controlling parts of three Iraq cities? How can parts of three cites come under the control of a rag-tag militia in a matter of a few days? How can that happen and anyone say the "coalition" has Iraq under control. I know, know, all is well, nothing to see here, move along.......

'U.S. forces are on the offense. The United States and our partners and free Iraqi forces are taking the battle to the terrorists,' Rumsfeld told a Pentagon news conference in Washington.

The problem I have is throwing around the term "terrorist." When a car bomb blows up the UN building in Iraq, that is terrorism. When grenades are launched at civilian hotels, that is terrorism. When a "militia" rebels against an occupation army, that is not terrorism. Call it a rebellion, call it an insurgency, call it an illegal gang, but don't try and lump it in with al Qaeda, because their actions are not the same.

I am not defending the extremists, but I am defending the use of language in proper communication of factual situations. All to often the government spin things to fit their point of view. "Homicide bombers" was just such a term created for political reasons. That term is propaganda, but it was at least an attempt that announced as a change in terminology. The way the Bush Administration throws around "terrorist" is about as bad as Islamic extremists throw around the term "infidel."

What would the Secret Service Do if anti-Bush protestors raised a ruckus in the front row of a Bush rally? Answer: they would start sending out their resumes because that doesn't happen to Bush. Protestors are kept far away from Bush and they even send undercover police into the protests to see who says anything “threatening” about Bush, and then have them arrested

When Bush comes to town next time and holds a public rally, oh hold on, Bush doesn't hold public rallies, he just holds screened out gatherings for supporters or fundraisers.

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

So you say you want to help the economy and you are a Republican, what do you propose? Well, a tax cut for the wealthy and an increase a tax increase for the middle class. Gee, that works!!! (Cough, Cough) Oh damn, why don't we just repeal sales tax on fur coats and sports cars while we are at it, that will surely create more jobs in the tens.

Try anti-violence point with WWII
In response to the letter 'Violence abroad begets more at home' (April 3), if the men and women during World War II had only applied those holier-than-thou lofty ideals instead of responding in violence with their 'puffed-chest, arms-bearing stances' against the Axis powers - had they instead spent their resources on housing, health care and education - we could be raising the children of those Axis regimes now, and with better care.
Edward Charron
Anderson Township

Mr. Charron, on that note, what if JFK had just nuked Cuba instead of the wimpy blockade how much more powerful would we be now??????? We would not be powerful at all, 99% of us would be dead from the nuclear war that would have followed.

Put the WWII what if comparisons to bed. This is not the first such letter the Enquirer has printed. Come up with some better rhetoric people!!!!

When the is the Velvet Hammer coming to Clermont County to protest the recount about to begin for the GOP Primary election between Tom Niehaus and Jean Schmidt? Here is what the BOE plans on doing:

Before the recount started, Bare said he and Kathy Jones, board of elections deputy director, would determine voters' intent on questionable ballots. If they can't decide, the board of elections will.

Intent of the voter???? Intent of the voter????? Why oh why would we care about that? If they can't fill out their ballot correctly, then screw them! Oh, wait, you say these are Republican voters??? Well, in that case, lets make sure we count every last voter's intent. We don't want to shortchange anyone's vote. No one will confuse us with Florida.

Monday, April 05, 2004

Dogberry: Dost thou not suspect my place? dost thou not suspect my years? O that he were here to write me down a hamster! But, masters, remember that I am a hamster; though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am a hamster. No, thou villain, thou art full of piety, as shall be proved upon thee by good witness. I am a wise fellow, and, which is more, an officer, and, which is more, a householder, and, which is more, as pretty a piece of flesh as any is in Messina, and one that knows the law, go to; and a rich fellow enough, go to; and a fellow that hath had losses, and one that hath two gowns and every thing handsome about him. Bring him away. O that I had been writ down a hamster!

Daniel Brown explores the culture wars in a column at QCF. His comments on the Gibson Movie I think are telling of some level of reality:

The Passion of Christ was a mini-sensation in March. This over publicized, over-hyped movie teaches us nothing about why people followed Jesus but much about mob violence and physical abuse. Symbolically, what is important is that it plays into the hands of the religious right, whose values pervades American society and has killed art and culture in Greater Cincinnati. Whether anyone's faith will be enhanced is up for grabs.

If have never seen or read it, I suggest catching Alistair Cooke's address to congress from 1974. It was on PBS last night in a tribute to the great BBC journalist. It was remarkable not only in its uniqueness, but in the guts for which it was made. Cooke said more about American Democracy and History than I have ever heard from a natural born citizen. He even addressed the Nixon scandal, which had come to a head only a month before his speech. Check your listings to see when PBS repeats the program.

Oh great. The television show that helped kill television news is doing a story on tickets by police and they of course chose Cincinnati as a place to study. This AP story pretends to be news, but is really just a press release. Can I start a pool? How many dramatic music themes will NBC producers use for the segment involving Cincinnati? I would bet on 3.

Rob is following the leader into a grass roots McCarthyism. I really would hope that the conservatives don't want to go down the road of death by association. Their laundry smells far worse than a couple of words from Kos.

As a daily listener to Morning Edition I was perplexed by the change. Morning Edition and All Things Considered are the best things on radio today in America. I don't know what changes they could be trying. The only thing that could improve it would be making it more "live." That would change it, and keeping the same atmosphere while being live would be very difficult. If they are going for the same thing, I don't see why they would dump Edwards, unless there was some kind of internal contract or personal conflict.

I hope NPR does not try something stupid, like CNN did with their attempt to compete with the Today Show. If NPR wants to pull Stern's or Imus's audience I think they have gone insane. NPR is for those who like to think. Stern is for those who don't like to think. Imus is for those who can think, but want to pretend they are, without having to do any thinking at all.

It appears that Tre Arrow, formerly known as Michael Scarpitti, who was wanted for 19 months for firebombing logging and cement trucks in Oregon, has been captured. What does this have to do with Cincinnati? Well, nothing, except for a reference in the article about Mr. Arrow:

Arrow dropped out of college and moved west, first to Cincinnati where he played in a band and fathered a child with his backup singer, and then to Frazier, Colo., where he worked in a whole foods store.

I think this would have been sometime before 1996. If you knew this guy or what band he was in, send me an email.

It Appears that mayors from Toledo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Akron and Dayton sent a joint letter to Treasury Secretary John Snow criticizing his comments about outsourcing American jobs. The Enquirerreported them on Tuesday:

The outsourcing of U.S. jobs "is part of trade ... and there can't be any doubt about the fact that trade makes the economy stronger," Treasury Secretary John Snow said Monday in Cincinnati.

Well, I never like "..." in the lead of story, but the context seems like comments that been attributed to Snow before.

The word "cold" comes to mind when I think of Snow, and that is not because I grew up about an hour from Buffalo, NY.

The story lacks much of any depth. He was here on a dog and pony tour to local big businesses, who support the GOP. What purpose did his visit serve?

I missed where the Editorial Board issued an opinion on Snow or his visit. It would nice to get a little bit more news than just the BushCo's view on the Economy. The Ohio Mayor's letter only made the news brief section of the Enquirer.

A local private school is closing its doors at the end of this school years. About 200 kids will have to find a new school to attend. This does not happen to public schools. There is and always should be a public school, a high quality one with needed funding, where a child can go for a 'free' education. I say free in the sense of tuition free. Education should be a public service as much as police protection and fire protection. If you want to pay for a private firm to give you police protection, you generally can. The same should be their for education. Voucher systems and the general motivation of some to make all schools private are things that will not best educate the majority of the youth in this country.

If you want religion in your school, then send your kids to a private school or school them yourself. That is your right, but not something we should subsidize.

LaShawn Pettus-Brown has fired Ken Lawson. According to the article Lawson had a plea bargain on the table that Brown rejected. The also indicates that Regina Collins, a civil attorney who has represented Brown in the past, stated Lawson forced his was onto the case.

Bottom line, when you Drop Ken Lawson as your defense attorney, you better start picking out your preferred brand of soap on a rope.

Dick Cheney is coming to town on Monday. Will protest groups have undercover agents inside their rallies down here like they did up in Dayton? With the GOP pull in this town, I would be shocked if the stroomtroopers where not out in force, both undercover and with riot gear ready to pounce on a litterbug.

Will Nate Livingston be protesting the VP? That I think is the real question, not that Bronson and Nate are becoming anti-free speech chums.

So Peter Bronson fell for Nate Livingstone's email attacking the Know Theatre Tribe. Well folks, there you have your proof, both Livingston and Bronson seek to stamp out freedom and intellectual thought. Their form of life would be better had under their own distinct form of fascism. Nate wants a black run city where white people are oppressed, Peter wants a theocratic state, with a paper layer of tolerance easily torn.

Bronson should have seen Lips, the latest play put on by the Know Theatre. For the record I was a technical adviser on that production. In the play a fictional President (remember all of these plays are fictional) near the end of the play goes hand in hand with her Lesbian lover down the aisle of a Church, seeking acceptance, but instead gets attacked. That shows the realty of Bronson's brand of religion at its worst, but does not mock religion. Peter thinks his brand of Christianity and its fundamental/evangelical sects are tolerant of difference, but they really just seek to have those who don't conform to their religion slunk around in the shadows, neither seen nor heard.

Peter writes:

Council should encourage free expression and help the arts downtown. But if it gives cash to the Know Theatre Tribe, even indirectly, arts groups will never find the integrity to respect religion the same way they curtsey to more politically correct "sensitivities."

What Bronson forgets, oh so intentionally, that religious groups where pushing "politically correct" ideas for hundreds of years before the conservatives starting whining about being chastised for saying "redskin." I point to Blue laws as the ultimate in religious PC efforts, getting the sale of alcohol ban or limited on Sundays. What motivated the laws???? Yep, Political correctness.

I hope Peter does not forget something: Churches are afforded non-tax status. Why is that done? It is does because of political correctness. What does not having to pay taxes do for churches? Well, they can use more funds to evangelize or run their religious activities. The taxpayers are then indirectly supporting religious activities. I don't like that. If I ran the world I would tax churches as any other Business, because that is what I seem them as. Guess what, that is not going to happen. Bronson should look at what I do, learn to live with the reality that everyone will not think like I do and let groups like the Know keep up their work of keeping live theater going in this town and making a stand for new and diverse art.

UPDATE:The Posthas a story on the Funding, and they too fell pray to Nate's charms by mentioning his email. I guess if on a slow news day I send out a mass email, then I would get my name in all of the papers too?